Official MLBlog of the Kansas City Royals front office.

Royals, Cardinals announce “Teams Unite for Joplin” details

The Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals have announced details about “Teams Unite for Joplin” events, a collaborative effort with the St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to help Joplin, Mo., recover from a devastating tornado that ripped through the city on May 22.

The upcoming I-70 Series at Busch Stadium, tonight through Sunday, will feature a number of fundraisers and awareness efforts dedicated to Joplin relief. Details are outlined below.

“Teams Unite for Joplin” Patch: For all three games of the weekend series, the Royals and Cardinals will wear a special commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” jersey patch. Fans have an opportunity to help support the Joplin relief effort by purchasing the commemorative patch for $10 online at www.royals.com/joplin or at Kauffman Stadium beginning Tuesday, June 21. All proceeds will benefit Joplin relief efforts. The patch will also be available at Busch Stadium this weekend.

“Teams Unite for Joplin” Items Featured in Online Auction: In addition, Royals Charities is hosting a special online auction featuring commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” game-used items from the Royals-Cardinals series. The auction, which includes items such as game-used bases, home plate, player jerseys and lineup cards with the commemorative logo signed by select Royals and Cardinals players, is now live at www.royals.com/joplin. The auction also includes the opportunity to secure a spot in the Joplin Jersey Hand-Off fundraiser scheduled for Saturday, June 25 following the Cubs-Royals game. In addition, the club is selling a limited number of commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” logo baseballs signed by select Royals. The auction will close on Sunday, June 26 at 8 p.m. with all proceeds benefiting Royals Charities disaster relief efforts.

Special Pregame Ceremony Details for Friday: The Royals and Cardinals will salute members of the Joplin High School softball team during pregame ceremonies. Danielle Campbell and Mikaila Craig, outfielders on the 2011 Eagles softball team who both lost their homes in the tornado, will both throw out a ceremonial first pitch with a Royals player and Cardinals player serving as catchers.

Special In-Game Ceremony Details for Saturday: During the first inning of Saturday night’s game, eighteen teammates of the Eagles baseball team will join Royals and Cardinals players in a special tribute to Joplin High School, which was also destroyed by the tornado. Kansas City and St. Louis will wear the Joplin Eagles caps during pregame activities and when each team takes the field for the game. Members of the Joplin baseball team will participate in an on-field hat exchange with the big leaguers and receive an autographed baseball. The special Joplin Eagles hats worn by the Royals will then be included in a future auction to benefit Joplin relief efforts. Auction details will be announced at a later date.

Text to Donate: Royals fans can continue to support the Joplin relief effort by texting “REDCROSS” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief.

Joplin Jersey Hand-Off Fundraiser: The Royals will also host a Joplin Jersey Hand-Off fundraiser on Saturday, June 25, giving fans to opportunity to win one of the autographed “Teams Unite for Joplin” jerseys from a Royals player. During the event, volunteers will sell $1 instant-win scratch tickets with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross and Royals Charities disaster relief efforts. Following the club’s 6:10 p.m. game against the Chicago Cubs, winners will be escorted to the field where Royals players and coaches will award the jerseys they wore during the Royals-Cardinals series. Fans can bid on the opportunity to secure a spot on the field at www.royals.com/joplin. Please note that this auction item will close on Monday, June 20.

Additional Efforts at Busch Stadium: The Cardinals will have volunteers outside all stadium gates this weekend to collect cash donations as fans enter the ballpark. In addition, the Cardinals will host a special live on-air auction of unique Cardinals experiences on KMOX and Fox Sports Net on Friday. The club will then host Cardinal Care Jersey Day, giving fans chances to win the game-used jerseys from the Cardinals after Sunday’s game. Like the Royals, St. Louis will also host an online auction with game-used items from the weekend series that will run from June 18-26. For details on all these efforts, fans may visit www.cardinals.com/joplin.

In the wake of the Joplin tornado, Royals Charities made a $25,000 donation to Heart to Heart International for its relief efforts and made a goodwill trip to the city in conjunction with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the club’s Double-A affiliate in Springdale, Ark., on June 6. In addition, Royals fans generously contributed more than $18,000 during an in-stadium collection that will benefit the American Red Cross relief efforts.

Fans are encouraged to visit www.royals.com/joplin for more details on the club’s disaster relief efforts and to learn about how they can help.

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1 Comment

I wish I could be there! I will certainly get the patch, though! I grew up a Cardinals fan, and am now a frequenter of the Royals games as well. My thoughts and prayers are with the the families in Joplin and the teams as they assist in the rebuilding of a community!

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